If you are still missing an “important head” after reading this article, you will not be able to find it for the time being: 100 is the end of this list. But next time the discussions in the jury, the “Berliner Wirtschaft” team of the Tagesspiegel, could turn out very differently, because the cards will be reshuffled. (kph)
91. Aletta von Massenbach, Airport BER
It used to be the largest ejection seat in the capital region. “It’s the nicest job I can imagine,” says Aletta von Massenbach. The 54-year-old has been chief manager of Willy Brandt Airport in Schönefeld since 2021. Before that, she had been responsible for the finances of the Berlin, Brandenburg and Federal Airport Company (FBB) since 2020, which was financially overbearing before her time on the construction of the BER billion-dollar project, which opened ten years late. Von Massenbach is the first woman to head a larger airport in Germany, responsible for 2,000 employees at FBB itself. A total of 20,000 people work at Schönefeld Airport.
She doesn’t let this role, this weight that comes from the role, hang out. Von Massenbach is considered a team worker and cultivates a cooperative leadership style. It gives the operational FBB manager, the Dane Thomas Hoff Andersson, creative and profiling space that predecessors such as Hartmut Mehdorn or Engelbert Lütke Daldrup would not have allowed. In any case, nothing is known of tensions in the management.
Von Massenbach fought her way through in a male-dominated industry after studying law in Bamberg and Passau, both of which she holds state exams. She never wanted to be a judge, lawyer or public prosecutor, as she recently confessed in the “Zeit” podcast: “It was clear to me from the start that I wanted to work in industry, in management positions.” And in the wide world. In men, such early determination might be called the alpha gene.
She then managed projects in Peru, the Philippines, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Russia and Spain for Fraport AG, the international airport group from Frankfurt am Main with the largest German hub. Von Massenbach ran airports in Bulgaria and Antalya Airport in Turkey, where she trained in crisis resilience.
At BER, which finds itself in calmer waters during operation, the task of the Massenbachs is not easy. After the pandemic, Willy Brandt Airport is recovering much more slowly than other airports in Germany and Europe, which is reflected in the airport company’s already deep red figures. It will be interesting to see what Massenbach comes up with. (thm)
92. Ulrich Battis
Whether it’s about the expropriation of large housing companies, rent freezes or other important issues in Berlin (and beyond) under constitutional and real estate law: the lawyer Ulrich Battis has been a sought-after discussion partner in all public and non-public rounds on fundamental questions of administrative law for decades. The 78-year-old Emeritus of the Faculty of Law at the HU Berlin always has a trend-setting influence on the formation of opinion. (book)
93. Tobias Weber, City Clean
Tobias Weber wrote chamber history. In the fall of 2021 he was to become President of the Chamber of Industry and Commerce, that’s what the current President Beatrice Kramm and the Chamber of Industry and Commerce establishment had come up with. But then Daniel-Jan Girl appeared like Kai out of the box and won the election. Weber, Vice President since 2014, retired. A man with connections and honorary posts has remained the managing partner of City Clean, for example as a member of the supervisory boards of Volksbank and Berlin Partner. The cleaning company from Charlottenburg and with a large location in Oberkrämer was founded in 1973 and employs almost 600 people in 19 branches. “One of the leading service providers in the areas of mat and mop service,” says the self-description. (alf)
94. Nicole Korset-Ristic, Biocompany
Nicole Korset-Ristic, born in Templin in 1982, trained as an office clerk before she studied European management in Wildau. After that, Korset-Ristic worked for the discounter Lidl as a trainee and district manager. With the birth of her first child, a healthy, sustainable lifestyle became important to her, which is why she switched to the organic industry and the Biocompany in 2014. Since 2021 she has been on the board of the company, which has 67 branches, 52 of which are in Berlin and seven in Brandenburg. (jni)
95. Marcel Fratzscher, DIW
The level of taxes, the design of the gas levy, the macroeconomic effects of the refugees or how best to deal with Corona and redesign the industry to be climate-friendly – Fratzscher knows all about it and wants to influence the public debate.
Alphonse Frese about Marcel Fratzscher
52-year-old Marcel Fratzscher wears various hats. As President of the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) the economist and professor (Humboldt Uni) is always also a political advisor. But Fratzscher’s high media presence is unusual. He has something to say about everything: the level of taxes, the structure of the gas levy, the macroeconomic effects of the refugees or how best to deal with Corona and redesign the industry in a climate-friendly way – Fratzscher knows all about it and wants to influence the public debate. And the legislature; Fratzscher headed a government commission to strengthen investment activity. The DIW, founded in 1925 as an institute for business cycle research, has recently been weakening in exactly this core business. (alf)
96. Markus Voigt, VBKI
Markus Voigt is a special phenomenon in the local economy and perhaps the most successful networker in the city. Almost 30 years ago, the man from Rhineland-Palatinate came to Berlin. With his engineering company, he managed major projects such as the construction of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, sold the company and later founded it again. It too has more than 120 employees. Since 2011, the 57-year-old has been President of the Association of Berlin Merchants and Industrialists (VBKI) and in this role hosts major social events such as the “Ball der Wirtschaft”. The association is considered an important platform where entrepreneurs get involved in social and civic activities. (kph)
97. Stefan Franzke, Berlin Partners
Selling Berlin as a global brand is Stefan Franzke’s job, and the 53-year-old does it with a lot of energy and passion. If you want to embody Berlin, you have to hold out until late at night at the various Berlin parties that strengthen the image of the club metropolis abroad. For this, Franzke steels himself regularly in the gym. The mechanical engineer, who has a doctorate, has been in charge of business at Berlin Partner since 2014. Before that he held similar positions for the state of Lower Saxony. Franzke comes from Sarstedt near Hanover, is married and has a daughter. (loy)
98. Alexandra von Stosch, Art project
Alexandra Gräfin von Stosch is a member of the management of the Artprojekt Group. The art historian develops projects at the interface between construction, nature conservation, nutrition and the hotel industry: There is the “Foodcampus”, where future ideas such as alternative proteins are hatched. “Curated future” is the keyword under which the 53-year-old summarizes the different areas. A construction campus is the new project for 2023: this is where the future of craftsmanship, new building materials and AI in construction should meet. (roe)
99. Mina Kolagar, PANTOhealth
Your company PANTOhealth does not yet generate hundreds of millions of euros a year. But Mina Kolagar (36) seems to have brought everything with her from her home country Iran in 2016 to write a great success story and also to inspire others: excellent technical education, persuasiveness and courage. With her comrades she has developed a system that measures vibrations on the pantographs of trains and can use artificial intelligence to detect damage to train overhead lines. Berlin needs such minds. (kph)
100. Stephan Schwarz, GRG
He should remain one of the most important heads of Berlin’s economy, no matter in which role.
Kevin P. Hoffman about Stephan Schwarz
Last, but not least: Stephan Schwarz. Until Thursday, the 57-year-old was the Senator for Economics, Energy and Public Enterprises in the State of Berlin. The co-owner of the company GRG Services Berlin and long-standing President of the Chamber of Crafts followed Franziska Giffey’s call at the end of 2021 and took up this office, although he had neither a party membership nor a mandate for the House of Representatives. A successful entrepreneur as a Senator for Economics: At least with Schwarz, the model worked, so it is unanimously in Berlin’s politics and economy. He didn’t want anymore. He should remain one of the most important heads of Berlin’s economy, no matter in which role. (kph)
